The making of a wholesome home

Simple Family Self Portrait Equipment

Since becoming a mum I’ve turned into quite the busy “family photographer” my phone will tell you; capturing our family moments – big and small – on a daily basis. However, many of the pictures only tell half the story as I am never in them myself.
While that’s ok for our everyday adventures, it’s no good for showing off our matching Christmas jumpers and the likes. Since hiring a professional to savour these big seasonal moments is simply not in our budget, I’m grateful for the basic photography equipment that I’ve acquired over the years. As it allows me to set up easy family self portrait shots (reluctant family members accounted for!) whenever the moment occurs.
The pictures of me and my littlest lady as seen in Oh & H:Maternity Mornings have all been captured with it. Although I admit there was a little bit more planning involved than for a simple group portrait and in the end some of them are still blurry and out of focus. However, I treasure these portraits dearly and they are well worth the small effort. Because realistically the best family pictures are simply the ones you get done. If you are in need of some diy photo family treasures too, below is the short list (with links) for my go-to family self-portrait equipment:

1. Camera, obviously. I own a Canon EOS D550, a simple DSLR (similar). It’s basic enough to get to grips with it easy, yet allows for a lot of manual control and therefore can take you quite far with your photography ideas. The lens I use is a 50mm F1.4 from Sigma.
2. Tripod. Generally I would assume you could make do without a tripod by using furniture, books etc. to get your camera into the right place. However I decided one Christmas it might be nice to own a decent tripod. It simply means less fuss, when you have your hands full coaxing various reluctant family members in front of the camera. I’m using a Vanguard Alta Pro and while I certainly recommend it, I appreciate that it was a bit of a splurge. But one that’s been worthwhile!
3. Remote Shutter release. Now every decent camera or phone for that matter has a self timer. However, after trying around a bit, I found for this particular shoot with an active baby the distant shutter release worked much better. Basically I set up the camera, positioned myself and the littlest lady in the frame and then played with her while simultaneously shooting loads of pictures. Otherwise I’d have to press the button on the camera and then run to get myself into the picture before the timer runs out.